It's 1996, and less than half of all American high-school students have ever used the Internet. Emma just got her first computer and an America Online CD-ROM. Josh is her best friend. They power up and log on - and discover themselves on Facebook, 15 years in the future. Everybody wonders what their Destiny will be. Josh and Emma are about to find out.

Thirteen Reasons Why

Clay Jensen returns home from school to find a strange package with his name on it lying on his porch. Inside he discovers several cassette tapes recorded by Hannah Baker, his classmate and crush, who committed suicide two weeks earlier. Hannah's voice explains that there are 13 reasons she decided to end her life. Clay is one of them. If he listens, he'll find out why.

What I Thought Was True

Gwen Castle's Biggest Mistake Ever, Cassidy Somers, is slumming it as a yard boy on her idyllic Nantucket-esque island this summer. He's a rich kid from across the bridge in Stony Bay, and she hails from a family of fishermen and housecleaners who keep the island's summer people happy. Gwen worries a life of cleaning houses will be her fate too, but just when it looks like she'll never escape her past - or the island - Gwen's dad gives her some shocking advice.

I Was Here

When her best friend Meg drinks a bottle of industrial-strength cleaner alone in a motel room, Cody is understandably shocked and devastated. She and Meg shared everything - so how was there no warning? But when Cody travels to Meg's college town to pack up the belongings left behind, she discovers that there's a lot that Meg never told her. About her old roommates, the sort of people Cody never would have met in her dead-end small town in Washington.

All the Bright Places

Theodore Finch is fascinated by death, and he constantly thinks of ways he might kill himself. But each time, something good, no matter how small, stops him. Violet Markey lives for the future, counting the days until graduation, when she can escape her Indiana town and her aching grief in the wake of her sister's recent death. When Finch and Violet meet on the ledge of the bell tower at school, it's unclear who saves whom.

My Heart and Other Black Holes

Sixteen-year-old physics nerd Aysel is obsessed with plotting her own death. With a mother who can barely look at her without wincing, classmates who whisper behind her back, and a father whose violent crime rocked her small town, Aysel is ready to turn her potential energy into nothingness.

Extraordinary Means

Up until his diagnosis, Lane lived a fairly predictable life. But when he finds himself at a tuberculosis sanatorium called Latham House, he discovers an insular world with paradoxical rules, med sensors, and an eccentric yet utterly compelling confidante named Sadie - and life as Lane knows it will never be the same.

Why We Broke Up

Min Green and Ed Slaterton are breaking up, so Min is writing Ed a letter and giving him a box. Inside the box is why they broke up. Two bottle caps, a movie ticket, a folded note, a box of matches, a protractor, books, a toy truck, a pair of ugly earrings, a comb from a motel room, and every other item collected over the course of a giddy, intimate, heartbreaking relationship. Item after item is illustrated and accounted for, and then the box, like a girlfriend, will be dumped.

The End of Feeling

Eighteen-year-old Benjamin Nefer seems to have it all: great looks, incredible football skills, and smooth moves that have won - and broken - the hearts of countless girls at his high school. But his hellish home life has left him feeling empty inside, unable to experience real feelings. He thinks he's fine being this way forever... until he meets a beautiful and witty 17-year-old girl named Charlotte "Charlie" Austin.

The List

It happens every year. A list is posted, and one girl from each grade is chosen as the prettiest, and another is chosen as the ugliest. Nobody knows who makes the list. It almost doesn't matter. The damage is done the minute it goes up.This is the story of eight girls, freshman to senior, "pretty" and "ugly." And it's also the story of how we see ourselves, and how other people see us, and the tangled connection of the two.

Before I Fall

Samantha Kingston has it all: the world's most crush-worthy boyfriend, three amazing best friends, and first pick of everything at Thomas Jefferson High—from the best table in the cafeteria to the choicest parking spot. Friday, February 12, should be just another day in her charmed life. Instead, it turns out to be her last. Then she gets a second chance. Seven chances, in fact.

My Life Next Door

The Garretts are everything the Reeds are not: loud, numerous, messy, affectionate. And every day from her balcony perch, 17-year-old Samantha Reed wishes she was one of them...until one summer evening, Jase Garrett climbs her terrace and changes everything. As the two fall fiercely in love, Jase's family makes Samantha one of their own. Then in an instant, the bottom drops out of her world and she is suddenly faced with an impossible decision. Which perfect family will save her? Or is it time she saved herself?

Since You've Been Gone

Before Sloane, Emily didn't go to parties, she barely talked to guys, and she didn't do anything crazy. Enter Sloane, social tornado and the best kind of best friend - someone who yanks you out of your shell. But right before what should have been an epic summer, Sloane just...disappears. No note. No calls. No texts. No Sloane. There's just a random to-do list with 13 bizarre tasks that Emily would never try. But what if they can lead her to Sloane? "Go Skinny Dipping?" Um...

This Is Falling: The Falling Series, Book 1

When I left for college, I put 1,000 miles between my future and my past. I'd made a choice - I was going to cross back to the other side, to live with the living. I just didn't know how. And then I met Nate Preeter. An All-American baseball player, Nate wasn't supposed to notice a ghost-of-a-girl like me. But he did. He shouldn't want to know my name. But he did. And when he learned my secret and saw the scars it left behind, he was supposed to run. But he didn't.

P.S. I Still Love You

Lara Jean didn't expect to really fall for Peter. She and Peter were just pretending. Except suddenly they weren't. Now Lara Jean is more confused than ever. When another boy from her past returns to her life, Lara Jean's feelings for him return too. Can a girl be in love with two boys at once?

Things We Know by Heart

Quinn Sullivan lost the love of her life when her boyfriend, Trent, died in an accident their junior year. In an attempt to get closure, she reached out to the recipients of his donated organs. Though some answered her letters, the one Quinn feels matters most - the person who received Trent's heart - has been silent.

Say What You Will

Amy and Matthew didn't know each other, really. They weren't friends. Matthew remembered her, sure, but he remembered a lot of people from elementary school that he wasn't friends with now. Matthew never planned to tell Amy what he thought of her cheerful facade, but after he does, Amy realizes she needs someone like him in her life. As they begin to spend more time with each other, Amy learns that Matthew has his own secrets and she decides to try to help him in the same way he's helped her.

Panic

Heather never thought she would compete in panic, a legendary game played by graduating seniors, where the stakes are high and the payoff is even higher. She'd never thought of herself as fearless, the kind of person who would fight to stand out. But when she finds something, and someone, to fight for, she will discover that she is braver than she ever thought. Dodge has never been afraid of panic. His secret will fuel him, and get him all the way through the game; he's sure of it. But what he doesn't know is that he's not the only one with a secret....

Every Day

Every morning, A wakes in a different person’s body, a different person’s life. There’s never any warning about where it will be or who it will be. A has made peace with that, even established guidelines by which to live: Never get too attached. Avoid being noticed. Do not interfere. It’s all fine until the morning that A wakes up in the body of Justin and meets Justin’s girlfriend, Rhiannon. From that moment, the rules by which A has been living no longer apply....

Love Letters to the Dead

It begins as an assignment for English class: Write a letter to a dead person. Laurel chooses Kurt Cobain because her sister, May, loved him. And he died young, just like May. Soon, Laurel has a notebook full of letters to the dead - to people like Janis Joplin, Heath Ledger, Amelia Earhart, and Amy Winehouse - though she never gives a single one of them to her teacher. She writes about starting high school, navigating the choppy waters of new friendships, learning to live with her splintering family, falling in love for the first time, and, most important, trying to grieve for May.

Me and Earl and the Dying Girl (Revised Edition)

Up until senior year, Greg has maintained total social invisibility. He only has one friend, Earl, and together they spend their time - when not playing video games and avoiding Earl's terrifying brothers - making movies, their own versions of Coppola and Herzog cult classics. Greg would be the first one to tell you his movies are f*@$ing terrible, but he and Earl don't make them for other people. Until Rachel.

Finding Jake: A Novel

While his successful wife goes off to her law office each day, Simon Connolly takes care of their kids, Jake and Laney. Now that they are in high school, the angst-ridden father should feel more relaxed, but he doesn't. He's seen the statistics, read the headlines. And now, his darkest fear is coming true. There has been a shooting at school.

Flat-Out Celeste: Flat-Out Love, Book 3

For high-school senior Celeste Watkins, every day is a brutal test of bravery. And Celeste is scared. Alienated because she's too smart, her speech too affected, her social skills too far outside the norm, she seems to have no choice but to retreat into isolation. But college could set her free, right? If she can make it through this grueling senior year, then maybe. If she can just find that one person to throw her a lifeline, then maybe, just maybe.

The Geography of You and Me

Lucy lives on the 24th floor. Owen lives in the basement. It's fitting, then, that they meet in the middle - stuck between two floors of a New York City apartment building, on an elevator rendered useless by a citywide blackout. After they're rescued, Lucy and Owen spend the night wandering the darkened streets and marveling at the rare appearance of stars above Manhattan. But once the power is back, so is reality. Lucy soon moves abroad with her parents, while Owen heads out west with his father.

Saint Anything

Peyton, Sydney's charismatic older brother, has always been the star of the family, receiving the lion's share of their parents' attention and - lately - concern. When Peyton's increasingly reckless behavior culminates in an accident, a drunk driving conviction, and a jail sentence, Sydney is cast adrift, searching for her place in the family and the world. ?

Publisher's Summary

It's 1996, and less than half of all American high-school students have ever used the Internet. Emma just got her first computer and an America Online CD-ROM. Josh is her best friend. They power up and log on - and discover themselves on Facebook, 15 years in the future.

Everybody wonders what their Destiny will be. Josh and Emma are about to find out.

This was weirdly unbelievable, but a lot of fun to listen to. The basic idea is that a boy gives a girl a free AOL CD In 1996 and when she logs on, she finds herself looking at FaceBook 15 years into the future. She sees her own profile and believes that her future self is unhappy so she changes current decisions and then logs on again to see if her future is any better. Her friend Josh likes what his future looks like, so he keeps trying to stop Emma from changing things.

The story was fun and unique. I really enjoyed it. One of my favorite scenes was when they read a Facebook comment that said something like "Looking at the planets....poor Pluto" and Josh says "What the hell happened to Pluto?" Funny.

I bumped off one star for just a couple of quirks that weren't quite right. For example, in 1996, the GUI Internet was a little further developed worldwide than the AOL-only version in the book. The characters acted like the Internet was new. Also, there were a few times when the author led the characters toward unnatural decisions that I had a hard time swallowing. Nothing huge, just like when they realized they could see their futures, rather than diving into everything in the short online time that they had, they suddenly decide "Let's not look anymore today." It wasn't realistic. If you could see into the future and you're not sure if the web page will be there the next time you log on, are you going to just turn it off? It's not a huge thing, but enough that I couldn't justify a full five stars.

I'd definitely recommend the book, even for adults who were around 15 years ago and remember the time period.

Would you consider the audio edition of The Future of Us to be better than the print version?

I thoroughly enjoyed the narration by Steven Kaplan and Mary Ellen Cravens. Their vocal performances brought nuances to the characters that one might not catch if reading the print version.

What other book might you compare The Future of Us to and why?

The Future of Us is unique in it's premise and execution. Reading it was like a journey back to my teens and college years, when Internet access was new and exciting. How would I have reacted to my current Facebook profile back then? Would I be happy with my life to come or try to change it? How would seeing the future change my eventual outcome?

Which character – as performed by Steven Kaplan and Mary Ellen Cravens – was your favorite?

It's hard to pick a favorite character. Both performances were outstanding, and it was easy to get carried away with them on their journey.

THE STORY: There are two 'gimmicks' to this story: the first is that Josh and Emma (in 1996) are able to see their future Facebook pages (from 2011), and the knowledge of the future impacts their present actions and decisions. The second is that like "Nick and Nora's Infinite Playlist", the narration of the story alternates between Emma and Josh, with Josh's parts written by Jay Asher (and read by Steven Kaplan) and Emma's by Carolyn Mackler (Mary Ellen Cravens). The alternating narrators works well, because if you find (like I did) that one narrator is especially annoying, you can rest easy knowing that that narrator will soon be replaced by a more likeable one. As for the Facebook thing.....when I started listening to this book, I wondered who the target audience was. I remember a time before Facebook. Heck, I remember the 90's. I laughed to myself when Emma strapped a discman to her arm to go jogging. I listened to Alannis and Dave Matthews - I remember bootleg tapes. "You've Got Mail" used to my favourite sound. And almost nobody had a cellphone. And I could relate with a bunch of 20th century kids wondering at texting or thinking that the only way you could access the internet was on a computer, because it wasn't that long ago that I was in that position. So it was a trip down memory lane. But would kids these days relate? Would they understand? Would they get the references? Or would it be a physical embodiment of the "back in my day" stories they get from their parents? I don't know. I know I enjoyed that aspect of the book. The story line was two-fold: on the one hand it was an experiment on how would people would react if they could see and thus change the future, and on the other hand it was a typical high school romance story. Both story lines are simple, but easy to digest and enjoyable.

THE AUDIOBOOK: Steven and Mary Ellen swap back and forth as the narration changes from Josh and Emma. Steven has a very easy to listen to voice, although his "female voice" was a little hard to take. Mary Ellen was very high pitched, but perfect for the character of Emma. The one negative aspect of this recording was the treatment of the Facebook posts: I'm assuming that in the print version, the Facebook status updates would be shown as screen shots, as though they were taken from a Facebook page (please, correct me if I'm wrong). And the narrators faithfully read everything in those screen shots....including the 'Like' and 'Comment' buttons, which just annoyed the heck out of me (so rather than just "Emma Nelson-Jones is having mac-n-cheese. 12 minutes ago", it becomes "Emma-Nelson Jones is having mac-n-cheese. 12 minutes ago. Like. Comment." Annoying, right?) Other than that, I found this a good audiobook to just zone out to on the train home.

I loved Jay Asher's "13 Reasons Why", so of course I wanted to check this book. I felt the girl was a little nuts, but otherwise everything was as believable as it could be, considering what the book is about.

Your report has been received. It will be reviewed by Audible and we will take appropriate action.

Can't wait to hear more from this listener?

You can now follow your favorite reviewers on Audible.

When you follow another listener, we'll highlight the books they review, and even email* you a copy of any new reviews they write. You can un-follow a listener at any time to stop receiving their updates.

* If you already opted out of emails from Audible you will still get review emails by the listeners you follow.